Jürgen Klopp has moved to set the record straight on one of the most persistent transfer myths of his Liverpool tenure: that he preferred Julian Brandt to Mohamed Salah in 2017 and had to be persuaded to change his mind.

Speaking to fan outlet The Anfield Wrap, the former Liverpool manager explained that Brandt was indeed among the wide players the club explored, but insisted Salah was never a reluctant second choice.

“There is always a story that I wanted to sign Julian Brandt or someone like that,” Klopp said. “The situation with that is if you go for a winger, you talk to seven or eight. Yes, we spoke to him, but we spoke to Salah. In the moment we were convinced he was the one.”

Liverpool ultimately secured Salah from Roma for a fee reported to be just over £34 million. The Egyptian forward went on to redefine the club’s modern era, becoming the spearhead of Klopp’s high-intensity attack and forming a devastating front three with Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino.

Salah’s impact was immediate and historic. He broke scoring records in his first season, then became central to Liverpool’s Champions League triumph and their long-awaited league title win. Under Klopp, he evolved from a talented winger with something to prove into one of the most feared forwards in world football.

Klopp also revealed that Salah arrived on Merseyside unsure of his place in the team. The Egyptian was concerned about how he would fit into an attack that already featured Mané and Philippe Coutinho.

“When we signed him, I remember he asked me: ‘Where will I play?’” Klopp recalled. “I said: ‘Your position, right wing.’ He said: ‘But Sadio Mané is playing there. Don’t you think he could play left wing?’ I told him: ‘That’s for Coutinho.’ He was really worried about if he would play.”

The contrast between that uncertain newcomer and the ruthless, record-breaking forward Salah became under Klopp underlines how decisive that 2017 call proved to be. While Brandt has built a strong career in Germany, Salah’s trajectory at Liverpool has placed him among the club’s greatest ever players, and Klopp is adamant that, inside Anfield, there was never any doubt about who was “the one.”